A Baby For Christmas. Joanna Sims

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      THE OTHER TWIN BROTHER

      Marine Captain Luke Brand has come home with one mission on his mind: to make amends with his identical twin brother’s widow. They’ve never gotten along, but for the wounded soldier, establishing a connection with his yet-to-be-born nephew is a top priority—and failure is not an option. Still, he has to make peace without revealing his secret—that he’s madly, completely, head over heels in love with Sophia Lee Brand.

      The last person Sophia wants to see this Christmas is Luke! She is too vulnerable and, well, too pregnant for the disruption. So why does she blush when he smiles, or her heart quicken when they touch? His looks are all too familiar—but he stirs up emotions she has never felt before. Perhaps a kiss under the mistletoe will make both of their Christmas wishes come true?

      “Have you ever cried for him, Luke?”

      “What do you think it will prove? You think that if I cry for Dan, I won’t feel like someone has yanked out half my guts? It doesn’t work that way, sweetheart!”

      “Don’t you patronize me, Lucas Brand! I’m not your ‘sweetheart,’ I’m your friend, and I deserve a little respect from you.”

      When the word friend came out of her mouth, Luke felt his stomach clench. No matter how many times he told himself to think of her that way, he couldn’t. Even now, when she was ticking him off beyond belief, he wanted her. His body ached for her.

      She was everything he wanted in a woman: strong, independent, incredibly smart and sexier now than she had ever been.

      He wanted to kiss the breath right out of her, until the word friend was permanently eradicated from her brain. But, whenever he came close to crossing that line, Luke would look down at her belly, and that would stop him cold.

      Dear Reader,

      When I was twelve years old, my family spent the summer on a working Montana cattle ranch. I remember that I loved the ranch so much that I cried when I had to return to my home in Florida. I have never forgotten the magic of Montana’s pristine mountains and the seemingly endless blue sky. When it was time to pick a setting for A Baby For Christmas, I couldn’t imagine a better place than a Montana ranch. And the ranch house of my childhood memories was never far from my mind when I created the Brand family home at Bent Tree as the backdrop for Luke and Sophia’s love story.

      For me, writing for Harlequin is a lifelong dream that actually came true. I hope that A Baby For Christmas is the first of many stories featuring the Brand Clan and I hope that you enjoy spending time with Luke and Sophia as much as I have.

      Happy holidays!

      Joanna

      A Baby For Christmas

      Joanna Sims